FROM

Ruth Eisenbud
March 2011

[Ed. Note: In mid March 2011, the Iowa State Legislature passed
legislation that will call for prison and a fine for anyone working
undercover at a slaughter house to document excessive violence, abuse and
torture. Proposed penalties include fines of up to $7,500 and up to five
years in prison. Please also read
Media Shining Light on Abuses.]

Those who eat the meat of other [living beings] in order to satisfy their
own flesh, they are definitely murderers [themselves], since without a
consumer [there can be] no killer.
- Acharya Hemacandra (12th c. Jain ascetic/scholar

All things breathing, all things existing, all living beings whatever, would
not be slain or treated with violence, or insulted, or tortured or driven
away. This is the pure unchanging eternal law, which the wise ones who know
the world have proclaimed...
- Jain Acharanga Sutra

The following was sent to Rep. Annette Sweeney, republican representative in
the IOWA state Legislature, regarding her effort to pass a law that will
call for prison and a fine for anyone working undercover at a slaughter
house to document excessive violence, abuse and torture. Sadly I just heard
from a colleague, that the bill was passed by the Iowa house of
representatives. It would still be helpful to write to Annette Sweeney and
let her know that her cruelty is not appreciated.

Dear Representative Sweeney,

I am sending this to you well aware that you will not agree with or
appreciate the point of view that animals are as worthy of the intrinsic
right to their lives as humans. However, the following must be said, whether
you have the compassion to understand it or not:

Those who kill the animals are also murderers, but because of the
monotheistic religious notion of dominion, they do not view themselves as
such. Rather they have persuaded themselves that they have the divine right
to harm and slaughter animals for human profit, indulgence and advantage. As
is the case with those who murder humans there is an effort to cover over
the violence with protestations of innocence. Those who are responsible for
the horrific mass assembly line killing of living beings, on some level
understand that if society were to view their dirty deeds and cruel methods,
there is a chance that their product would be less favorably received with a
resultant fall in sales. They do not have the wisdom or compassion to
understand that taking the life of any living being is an act of violence
which results in pain and suffering for the victim. So while all slaughter
ought to be abolished, these purveyors who inflict the brutal killing
techniques of 'modern' agriculture on their victims, reminiscent of the
worst genocides, seek to keep their vicious techniques from the public. This
latest cover-up effort is occurring in IOWA, where the state legislature is
expected to pass a bill criminalizing undercover videos documenting gross
violations of the sanctity of life, of ALL living beings:

Iowa Considers Bill to Criminalize Undercover Videos at Farms In Iowa,
lawmakers are considering a bill that would make it illegal for animal
rights activists to go undercover and record video of farm animal abuse.
Backed by Iowa’s agriculture industry, the bill would impose fines and
prison sentences on anyone who seeks agricultural employment in order to
capture footage. In recent years, undercover videos have revealed shocking
conditions at a number of locations and have led to plant closures and meat
recalls.
- Democracy Now

The underlying rational that allows for this carnage to exist and thrive is
the biblical doctrine that man ranks higher in an arbitrary self-serving
hierarchy: god/man/animal created to excuse violence to animals as
justifiable and even righteous:

Proverbs 12:10 states, "The righteous person regards the life of his or her
animal." In Judaism, one who is unnecessarily cruel to animals cannot be
regarded as a righteous individual."
- Prof Richard Schwartz, founder Jewish Vegetarian Society

In other words: He who is of necessity cruel to animals can be regarded as a
righteous individual.

So while you may justify her heartless position on biblical rhetoric, those
with a more profound understanding of compassion, will view this position
for what it is: the exercise of greed and power over the harmless and weak.
Some argue, that if the excesses of violence were toned down on the
'production' floor of the agri-business killing fields, the slaughter of
animals would somehow be tolerable. They insist that if the cruelty could
somehow be regulated, the killing could go on and the profits would not be
jeopardized. The apparent fallacy with this view is two-fold. First it is
always cruel to kill a sentient being who has the desire to survive and
cherishes their life as we do ours, no matter how humanely they are
dispatched. It is still murder to kill a human, even if it is done with the
greatest care. The second flaw with regulation rather than abolition of
abuse is that it is seldom contained and often escalates to obscene levels
as documented by the undercover videos of those with the courage to
infiltrate industries that have no limits on cruelty to satisfy their greed.

Once again we see, you can pass all the laws you want, make all the
agreements you want with the animal torturers and murderers, drink as much
champagne celebrating those "victories" as you want - animal exploitation
industries never comply, always violate, always overturn...(and all that
"meat" wasted that was on the menu at the Ohioans for Humane Farms
benefit)...
- Bob Linden, GoVegan Radio

Who are the criminals?

Dominion with its mandate that man has the god-given right to harm and
slaughter animals is cruel in and of itself. To further compound it with the
abuses of mechanized factory farming and then attempt to cover up the
horrific violence inflicted on harmless animals by criminalizing those who
expose the evil begs the question: Who are the Criminals? Your attempt to
criminalize compassion and assure that not even the tiniest measures of
cruelty are spared the innocent victims has reduced violence and deceit to a
new low. The decision to prosecute those who still have a conscience reveals
the full depth of the failure of the Judeo/Christian tradition to extend
compassion to animals. The following has provided you with a license to
violate the sanctity of life for ALL beings and you have taken full
advantage of these words to insure the most sadistic outcome.

Words that lead to violence:

Genesis 9:1-3: "God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: 'Be
fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you shall
rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on
everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; into
your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food
for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything."

So, who then are the criminals: those who terrorize, abuse and slaughter
harmless creatures, then seek to hide these dirty deeds or those who seek to
protect the victims? You would do well to heed the words of a more
compassionate view, which understands that all suffering inflicted on
sentient beings is a sin, not a god-given right and privilege:

He who harms animals has not understood or renounced deeds
of sin...He who understands the nature of sin against animals is called a
Sage.
- Jain Acharanga Sutra

For there is nothing inaccessible for death. All beings are fond of life,
hate pain, like pleasure, shun destruction, like life, long to live. To all
life is dear.
- Jain Acharanga Sutra.

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